Don Bell

Don Bell is Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the National Association of Chain Drug Stores. Mr. Bell advises NACDS and chain pharmacies regarding federal drug laws, Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, fraud and abuse laws, and many other legal standards. His litigation has saved pharmacies billions of dollars. He analyzes and drafts proposed legislation, and helps work with federal and state governments. Don regularly gives presentations and writes articles on legislation, litigation and regulations that affect the pharmaceutical industry. Don is a Certified Association Executive and served as President of the American Society for Pharmacy Law. He is a member of the DC, Maryland and Virginia bars and is admitted to practice before dozens of federal courts including the US Supreme Court. Don formerly worked with Proskauer Rose LLP, a large New York-based law firm where he practiced health care litigation. Mr. Bell received his JD from George Washington University and his BA from Northwestern University.

Nathan Coney

Nathan Coney, MBA
Vice President, 340B ProgramLindenwood LTC

Nate has over 12 years of industry experience spanning from Healthcare IT, to pharmaceutical wholesaler and most recent 340B sales.
His past selling experience includes pharmaceutical wholesale distribution, and 340B contract arrangements from the administration side, working directly with Hospital C-Suite and board members. Nate gained a deep understanding of the 340B program, competition, and landscape from multiple vantage points.

As Regional Manager with a national 340B administrator, Nate specialized in 340B contract arrangements in addition to facilitating educational sessions with State Hospital Associations. In that role Nate was responsible for the entire east coast.

In his current responsibility, Nate oversees all 340B sales and operations for a regional New York based independent chain-pharmacy group. His primary book of business includes community health centers and NYC based IDN’s where he was successful with onboarding 340B contract pharmacies and assisting with 340B Audit preparation for the Covered Entities.
Nate is a member of Healthcare Industry Supply Chain Institute and serves as an active committee member of New Jersey Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists.

Nate holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems from Ramapo College and an MBA from Fairleigh Dickerson University.

Carrie Galvan

Carrie Galvan
340B Program CoordinatorBoone County Hospital

Carrie Galvan is the 340B Program Coordinator at Boone County Hospital. She oversees the hospital’s 340B program and works closely with the compliance team to monitor the program’s adherence to the guidelines set forth by the hospital and by HRSA. Mrs. Galvan holds a bachelor’s degree in biology and religion from Simpson College and is currently pursuing a Master’s in Business Analytics at Iowa State University.

Chris Hatwig

Chris Hatwig, MS, RPh, FASHP
PresidentApexus

Chris Hatwig is President of Apexus, the organization responsible for managing the Human Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) 340B Prime Vendor Program (PVP). He works closely with HRSA’s Office of Pharmacy Affairs in Washington, DC, to educate all stakeholders and to improve the integrity and value of the 340B Drug Pricing Program for the nation’s safety-net providers. Participants in the program include more than 36,000 HRSA grantees and disproportionate share hospitals serving the nation’s low-income and uninsured populations. The PVP provides added value by collectively representing the 340B covered entities’ purchases to secure federal sub-ceiling discounts on pharmaceuticals and discounts on other outpatient pharmacy-related products and services.

Mr. Hatwig is consulted frequently about optimizing the benefits of the 340B Program. He routinely makes national and regional presentations related to the 340B Drug Pricing Program, innovative ambulatory pharmacy services, and drug cost containment strategies.

Before joining Apexus, Mr. Hatwig was the director of ambulatory pharmacy services and value analysis programs at Parkland Health & Hospital System in Dallas, where he practiced for 13 years, managing one of the nation’s largest and most progressive ambulatory pharmacy programs serving low-income and uninsured patients. He was responsible for managing Parkland’s network of ambulatory pharmacies, which processed more than two million prescriptions annually and operated with a drug expense budget of $65 million.

Mr. Hatwig received his bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Arkansas. He completed residencies in hospital pharmacy and hospital pharmacy administration at the University of Wisconsin, culminating in a master’s degree in hospital pharmacy.

Felicity Homsted

Felicity Homsted is Chief Pharmacy for Penobscot Community Health Center Inc. (PCHC); Maine’s largest Federally Qualified Health Center serving over 70,000 patients across the state. She is responsible for the administration of four pharmacies, integrated pharmacy services and PCHC’s accredited community pharmacy and health systems pharmacy administration (HSPA) residency programs.

Dr. Homsted’s specific professional interests are quality improvement, advancing the integrations of pharmacists in the primary care setting, and healthcare advocacy. As Chief Pharmacy Officer for PCHC, Felicity has led the movement of pharmacists beyond the traditional dispensing role to develop a model of clinical integration and collaboration within PCHC.

Gary L. Horne

Gary L. Horne, RPh, MHSA
Director of PharmacySan Mateo Medical Center

Gary Horne has served as Director of Pharmacy at San Mateo Medical Center in San Mateo California since April 2006. In this capacity he manages and oversees the in-patient hospital pharmacy and the on-site ambulatory care pharmacy. He also coordinates all aspects of the 340B pricing program with seven contract pharmacies throughout San Mateo County.

In 2000 he received a Masters in Health Sciences Administration. After graduating with a degree in Pharmacy in 1979, Gary completed a hospital residency in 1980. Since that time he has been a pharmacy manager in various hospitals, ranging from:

small community not-for-profits

large corporate for-profits

multi-hospital non-profits.

Prior to joining San Mateo Medical Center, Gary spent four years as a consultant and interim pharmacy manager. He also has experience in managing long-term care and home infusion pharmacies. As Director of Pharmacy for SMMC, he is responsible for the organization and implementation of various in-patient and out-patient pharmacy programs to support the mission, vision and values of the Medical Center.

Gary has been a member of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists (ASHP), and serves on the Practice Managers Advisory group, California Society of Health-System Pharmacists (CSHP) and the American Pharmacists Association.

He has served as a part-time consultant with APhA federal contract and grants and has worked with several covered entities on the implementation of 340B. As a consultant with APhA and an independent consultant, Gary has presented on topics such as Contract Pharmacy Arrangements, Medicare Part D, and other aspects of the 340B program at various meetings including several 340B Coalition Conferences, ASHP Midyear Clinical Meetings and the CSHP Annual Meeting.

Callie Lyons

Callie Lyons, PharmD
Director, Pharmacy SupportWellpartner Inc.

Callie Lyons, Pharm.D. serves as Vice President, Pharmacy Support at Wellpartner, Inc. She supports the national sales and marketing teams as the 340B program’s pharmacy and technical subject matter expert, also communicating directly with the Wellpartner Specialty pharmacy to support specialty sales opportunities. Ms. Lyons specializes in all aspects of the 340B program, which include: contract pharmacies, specialty pharmacies, health plans, wholesalers, and information technology. Prior to joining Wellpartner, Ms. Lyons was an Informatics Pharmacist at Mount Sinai-Beth Israel Hospital, where she oversaw ongoing maintenance of the pharmacy portion of the computerized provider order entry (CPOE) system across four hospital sites. She also facilitated 340B pricing and best price market share agreements, in conjunction with the medication wholesaler and the internal finance department, for the hospital’s 340B and Group Purchasing Organization (GPO).

Ms. Lyons is a registered pharmacist in the state of New York, having completed a Post Graduate Year One Pharmacy Practice Residency, and obtained a Certificate of Teaching Excellence from Mount Sinai-Beth Israel Hospital and St. John’s University. She is also a member of American College of Clinical Pharmacy, New York Society of Health-System Pharmacists, American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, and the American Pharmacists’ Association. Ms. Lyons holds a Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Mississippi, and earned dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences from Mississippi State University.

Mary Elizabeth Marr

Mary Elizabeth Marr
Chief Executive OfficerThrive Alabama

Mary Elizabeth has been in the AIDS arena since 1992, where she was working for the American Red Cross as their Health Educator. As the Health Educator, Mary Elizabeth was the awarded Educator of the year by AIDS Task Force of Alabama in 1998. During that time she was also on the Board of Directors of the AIDS Action Coalition. She has served on many local as well as statewide committees such as Statewide AIDS Network Chairman for the American Red Cross, a member of ASONA – AIDS Service Organization Network of Alabama, Chairman of ASONA for the past eight years. Mary Elizabeth became the director of the AIDS Action Coalition/Davis Clinic in January 1999. Mary Elizabeth has taken the AIDS Action Coalition from a $500,000 yearly budget to $7.5 million budget, expanding clinical care, and expanded testing. To reduce stigma for people living with HIV/AIDS, AAC went through a rebranding in 2015, changing the name to Thrive Alabama. She has added HUD and SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health) funding, and serves as an advocate for people living with HIV/AIDS in north Alabama. Thrive Alabama is now awaiting Federally Qualified Health Center designation to expand services for all uninsured persons in Huntsville. CEO responsibilities include membership on the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership, and Public Policy Committee, and the Ryan White 340B Coalition, in Washington DC. Her degree is in Education from Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana.

Gary Merchant

Gary Merchant
President New Hampshire Board of Pharmacy
Member, Board of Directors Ammonoosuc Community Health Services

Member of the NH Board of Pharmacy for 8 years, currently serving as board president. Member of the board of directors for Ammonoosuc Community Health Services, a 340B covered entity.

Recently served as the Administrative Director of the New England Pharmacy Collaborative (NEPC) for several years. NEPC is an organization of 16 hospitals and numerous clinics located across NH and VT that facilitates and coordinates pharmacy related contracting, knowledge sharing, education, and best practice. NEPC has a combined annual drug spend of over $200 million, 1200 beds, and over a thousand providers. NEPC members included several types of 340B covered entities as Critical Access Hospital, Rural Referral Center, DSH, grantees as Hemophilia, Ryan White and Family Planning. NEPC created a ‘shared service’ model that supported many of the 340B program within these covered entities.

Tami Miller

Tami Miller, PharmD, BCACP, is a Pharmacy Director at Bullhook Community Health Center (BCHC), an FQHC in rural North Central Montana where they see around 4600 unique patients yearly. She became a Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist in July of 2017 and is a licensed Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner in the state of Montana. Ms. Miller was charged with establishing and opening an on-site pharmacy for Bullhook Community Health Center in 2014. She ensures 340b compliancy and education for all staff members and has experience with changing Medicaid status from carve-out to carve-in, in addition to ensuring compliancy with all departments in order to prevent duplicate discounts. She works within the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model of healthcare and believes that ensuring compliancy and maximizing 340b benefits for her organization contributes to achieving the mission of BCHC to inspire a healthy community through patient centered care.

Nichelle A. Mullins

Nichelle A. Mullins has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Charter Oak Health Center, Inc. since 2015. Charter Oak Health Center is a federally qualified health center that was founded in 1978 and provides quality comprehensive health care to the underserved population regardless of their ability to pay. Ms. Mullins is responsible for managing a $26 million budget and overseeing all operations for the facility which serves over 19,000 patients annually in 10 licensed sites within the city of Hartford. Prior to accepting the role as the President and CEO, Ms. Mullins served in the capacity of Chief of Compliance and Legal Affairs for the health center where she oversaw all regulatory and licensing issues, the health center’s compliance program, and all legal matters pertaining to the center.

Ms. Mullins has served in various professional capacities over the course of her career working to improve the lives of individuals through the legal system and direct service. She began her legal career practicing public finance and employment discrimination law at Robinson & Cole, LLP. She then opened a private legal practice and served clients in the areas of real estate, small business and not-for-profit counseling and creation, wills and trusts, and family law. Her most meaningful work came in the form when serving as court appointed counsel in child abuse, neglect and juvenile delinquency hearings. After closing her private practice, Ms. Mullins worked as an attorney with the State of Connecticut Department of Public Safety and then as a state prosecutor in Rockville, CT. Ms. Mullins also has a passion for teaching. She previously served as adjunct faculty at Goodwin College and Manchester Community College teaching introductory business and law classes.

Ms. Mullins was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut. She matriculated from the Hartford Public School system and is a proud alumna of Thomas Snell Weaver High School. Ms. Mullins studied Political Science, African and African American Studies at the University of Michigan where she graduated with a Bachelors of Arts degree in 1997. She earned a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Syracuse University in 2001. Most recently, she earned a Masters in Health Care Administration from Walden University in 2016. Ms. Mullins is an ordained minister and currently serves as an appointed member of the Citizens Ethics Advisory Board, and the Governor’s Healthcare Cabinet Committee. She is married to the Honorable Raheem L. Mullins (Connecticut Supreme Court) and has three beautiful children, Tatiana (22), Nia (7) and Raheem, Jr. (3).

David A. Neu

David A. Neu, PharmD., MSHSA is the Vice President of Pharmacy for Saint Thomas Health. He oversees all inpatient pharmacy operations for each of the 8 campuses as well as several outpatient pharmacy services such as the Nuclear Pharmacy, Anticoagulation Monitoring Clinic, four Dispensary of Hope Charity Pharmacies and an outpatient hospital retail pharmacy. Two of the hospitals have 340B status: Saint Thomas Hickman Hospital (340B Critical Access Hospital) and Saint Thomas River Park (DSH Hospital). David is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy, has completed a Masters in Health Care Administration through the University of Saint Francis and is a 25 year associate of Saint Thomas Health.

David Pittman

Pittman joined POLITICO in May 2014 to help launch its Pro eHealth team, covering all things at the intersection of health care and technology policy. Before that, he served as the lone Washington reporter for the health news website MedPage Today, covering nearly all aspects of health policy from Medicare and Medicaid to the Affordable Care Act and Capitol Hill. He has also covered science and regulatory policy for trade newsletter company FDAnews and the weekly newsmagazine Chemical & Engineering News. Pittman got his start in journalism covering healthcare for the daily newspaper in the West Texas town of Amarillo.

Pittman holds bachelor's degrees in journalism and chemistry from the University of Georgia, where he graduated in 2006. While in Athens, Pittman worked as a staff writer of The Red & Black and eventually became editor-in-chief, pestering school administrators. Like any good Southerner, he prefers his tea sweet, chicken fried and fall Saturdays reserved for college football. He is also surviving as an Atlanta Braves fan in a town full of Washington Nationals supporters.

William Sarraille

William Sarraille
PartnerSidley Austin LLP

BILL SARRAILLE is a senior member of the Healthcare Practice group and a nationally-recognized lawyer in healthcare law. Mr. Sarraille concentrates on a variety of healthcare matters, including Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement, coverage and coding, pharmaceutical price reporting, issues related to the marketing and promotion of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, internal investigations, clinical research issues, Stark and Anti-Kickback Law analyses, Medicare and Medicaid audits, healthcare acquisitions and due diligence, compliance program audits, managed care matters, healthcare contracts, administrative litigation, legislative matters, privacy and security, coverage for new devices and services, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, international compliance and healthcare contracting, the representation of witnesses and companies before Congressional Committees, and the defense of healthcare criminal and False Claims Act matters. Mr. Sarraille has defended clients in some of the largest healthcare fraud investigations brought by the U.S. Government.

Speaking at these upcoming events:

Lisa Scholz

Lisa Scholz
Head of Industry RelationsSentry Data Systems

Lisa Scholz, Head of Industry Relations, joined Sentry after three years as Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President at 340B Health, a membership organization of more than 1,300 public and private nonprofit hospitals and health systems throughout the U.S. During her tenure, she grew the association’s membership, guided strategy, and helped influence legislative decisions to affect program change. Lisa’s combined experience includes retail pharmacy operations and health-system pharmacy management at a 1,000-bed hospital health system in Texas and she served as Vice President of the HRSA Pharmacy Services Support Center at the American Pharmacists Association, where she secured a five-year government contract to provide HRSA’s Office of Pharmacy Affairs (OPA) with assistance and expertise in the delivery of pharmaceutical services and 340B support. She is an industry thought-leader around 340B and analytics initiatives and interacts with key clients and strategic partners to create solutions to the most challenging problems. She represents Sentry at key industry events, engages with congressional contacts on legislative matters, and interacts with government agencies related to regulations to bridge health policy into leading practices with the support of technology. A native Texan, she has both a doctorate in pharmacy from the University of Houston and an MBA from Madison University. She is a registered pharmacist in Texas and graduate school preceptor.

Edward D Shanshala II

A life-long learner, Ed has had the privilege of mentorship from those who pushed him to pursue excellence personally and professionally. His vision is to redefine health care as an investment with returns; a necessary building block of our economy; by supporting individuals to take accountability for their own health, the wellbeing of the population will improve. Ed is a founding board director of the North Country Accountable Care Organization, the New Hampshire Rural ACO, and the North Country Community Care Organization. In addition he is on the board of directors of Bi-State Primary Care Association, Littleton Regional Healthcare, and the North Country Health Consortium.

Ed served as a co-chair of the Health Recourse Service Administration (HRSA) Patient Safety Pharmacy Collaborative (PSPC), and continues to provide leadership in the promulgation of clinical pharmacy services as a collaborating partner with A3, partnered with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) to integration of Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) clinical pharmacy services between in a Critical Access Hospital CAH), and currently collaborating with the CMS QIO on antibiotic stewardship. In addition Ed’s leadership on 340B compliance related to diversion and duplication of discount he has invested time to ensure he and others are able to demonstrate the reinvestment of 340B savings into mission as is the intent of the program.

Bruce Thompson

Bruce Thompson, Division Vice President of Compliance and Regulatory Consulting leads the team of 340B consultants for Comprehensive Pharmacy Services. Over the past four years, Bruce has assisted 27 organizations with 340B HRSA Audits and supports over 250 covered entities.

Previously, he served as Director of Health System Pharmacy Services at Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN, the largest 340B Safety Net Hospital in Minnesota. During that time, Bruce was a HRSA Peer to Peer Mentor and a 340B University faculty.

Bruce has given numerous presentations and publications over his career. Recently his work has been with 340B program including program integrity, and expansion of clinical services for the patients.

Amanda Tucker

Amanda Tucker
Senior Government AnalystUCB

Amanda Tucker is currently a Gov’t Pricing Senior Analyst at UCB, and prior to joining UCB she was a Medicaid Analyst at Abbvie. She has extensive knowledge in Medicaid invoice processing including setting up, maintaining, and maximizing the return on dispute resolutions with the states. She has worked with both long established dispute programs, as well as establishing newly implemented programs.

Sue Veer

Sue Veer has has served as the President and CEO for Carolina Health Centers, Inc. (CHC) since 2006. CHC serves as the medical home for over 27,000 patients with 12 primary care practices located throughout a seven-county area of South Carolina known as the Lakelands. The in-house 340B pharmacy CHC opened in 2005 has grown to a robust pharmacy program, dispensing 30,000 prescriptions per month throughout CHC’s service area.

Ms. Veer is also an active member of the National Association for Community Health Centers, serving on the Legislative, Health Policy, and Rural Health committees and taking a leadership role in the formation of a NACHC 340B Work Group. Ms. Veer serves on the Advisory Council for Apexus (the HRSA 340B Prime Vendor), and as faculty for the Apexus 340B University. As Congressional oversight of the 34B Drug Pricing Program has increased, Ms. Veer has testified on behalf of community health centers at hearings convened by both Senate and House committees.

Ms. Veer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business and Communication from Carlow College in Pittsburgh, PA and earned her MBA from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, SC. Prior to joining Carolina Health Centers, Ms. Veer served as Associate Executive Director of the South Carolina Primary Health Care Association where she gained extensive knowledge in health policy and health center management. Her professional background includes management positions in the private practice and community hospital environment, as well as at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

William H. von Oehsen

William H. von Oehsen
PrincipalPowers Pyles
Sutter & Verville, PC

William von Oehsen is a Principal in Powers, Pyles, Sutter and Verville, P.C., a law firm specializing in health care law and policy. Mr. von Oehsen has more than 20 years experience on pharmaceutical pricing and reimbursement matters, including the 340B drug discount program, the Medicaid drug rebate program, Medicare Part D, Robinson-Patman, and state Medicaid and pharmacy laws. He helped establish and serves as outside counsel to 340B Health, formerly Safety Net Hospitals for Pharmaceutical Access, an advocacy organization of over 1,300 public and private non-profit hospitals participating in the 340B program. Mr. von Oehsen played a key role in helping to enact the 340B program in 1992, as well as to expand the law in 2010 under the Affordable Care Act. In 1997, he helped organize the 340B Coalition, which now represents a dozen national organizations whose members comprise virtually all of the safety net providers participating in the 340B program. Mr. von Oehsen co-founded and served as co-editor of the Drug Discount Monitor, the first publication to focus specifically on the 340B program and other pharmacy access issues.

In addition to representing clients on 340B matters, Mr. von Oehsen provides guidance to pharmacies, pharmacy-related vendors and consultants, states, local governments, and other health care entities in their efforts to improve access to pharmaceutical care and to ensure compliance with drug pricing laws. Mr. von Oehsen has experience in counseling clients on matters involving the federal supply schedule and federal ceiling price programs, state pharmaceutical assistance programs, manufacturer patient assistance programs, the Prescription Drug Marketing Act, Medicare Part B, managed care and related authorities. Mr. von Oehsen has testified before the U.S. Congress and numerous state legislatures and provides technical assistance to federal and state policy makers in both the legislative and executive branches. He has handled litigation matters involving pharmaceutical pricing. He also practices in the area of food and drug law.

Mr. von Oehsen received a Bachelor’s degree from Princeton University, an M.T.S. from Harvard University and a J.D. from Georgetown University.

Maggie Williams

Maggie Williams graduated from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in 2002 with a Doctor of Pharmacy. She completed an ASHP Residency in Pharmacy Practice with Emphasis in Ambulatory Care at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis in 2003 and became a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) in 2012. Currently she is the Director of Pharmacy at White River Medical Center in Batesville, Arkansas and is a Preceptor for Harding University and UAMS College of Pharmacy.

Tammy Zukowski

Tammy is an expert in the development and operations of both 340B and specialty pharmacy programs. She has led numerous Visante engagements ranging from assessment to detailed program implementation. Prior to her work with Visante, Tammy was Director of Specialty Pharmacy for Caret, where she helped develop an oral oncolytic therapy management solution.

Most of Tammy’s career has been in specialty pharmacy operations. Tammy was Specialty Pharmacy Program Manager for the University of Michigan Health System, a 340B covered entity. She led the program from its inception to a multi-million-dollar enterprise with 40% annual growth and positive profit margins. Her oversight included all aspects of department functions including clinical management, fulfillment services, benefit and eligibility verification and counseling, prior authorization, patient assistance, billing and collections, third-party reimbursement, and medication distribution. She was also responsible for ensuring regulatory compliance, monitoring changes to state and federal agencies and accreditation bodies pertaining to specialty pharmacy and 340B integrity.

Tammy was a member of the founding management team for DirectRx, a privately-held specialty pharmacy located in Michigan. In this role, Tammy commanded all service lines, sales, and financial activities. Tammy has a solid background in pharmacy and specialty pharmacy billing, reimbursement, and revenue cycle practices. Her proficiency in the nuances of reimbursement and patient access in oncology, solid organ transplant and bone marrow transplant has led to request for consultation and training.